Marketing and communication in the digital era: why is it so important?

Understanding what digital marketing really is

· Marketing,digital,transformation

We are living a revolution, like the previous ones, we will only notice the revolution afterwards. We are in a Digital revolution. The way we communicate has dramatically changed. We can communicate at any time, on any device and with anyone on the planet (and most of the time, freely where we used to pay a bunch of money for a 3 minutes phone call).

But organisations continue to communicate like yesterday. And when we talk about Digital marketing, the answer is: "We have a website". Until recently, websites were just an extra communication channel among print supports like brochures and flyers, outdoor advertising or emailing. The Digital Revolution is impacting all sectors including marketing and communication. And those who will survive to the Digital Revolution will most probably be the ones who embrace Digital marketing.

Why is Digital Marketing so important?

1. Digital Marketing isn't just an extra channel

Digital Marketing is not about website, social networks, blogs or even digital advertising. Marketing in the digital era is about nourishing, sharing and caring..In other words, transforming prospects into customers. Bringing your visitors or fans into faithful customers. Digital marketing is about building trustworthy relationships through content creation, inbound marketing, influencers relations (press and bloggers).

2. If you don't embrace Digital Marketing, your competitors will

Yesterday, competitors were the ones on the same page in the Yellow Pages; same business, same location and most probably same business model.

Today, your competitors are all over the world and are available 24/24. Products are delivered in 20 minutes or 48 hours. Startups are disrupting all business even the most established ones like finances or insurances. Not a single sector will escape to the digital revolution: lawyers, local shops, consulting companies, designers, farmers, developers or workers should think about how to deal with digital.If you don't embrace Digital Marketing, your competitors will or new competitors will enter the market with lean and agile strategy (including digital marketing).

3. Word of mouth is now Digital word of mouth

Everyone agrees in saying word-of-mouth is the best marketing and sales channel. But today, it is digital too, customers comment and share experience about your organisation and/or brand whether you have an online presence or not. Word-of-mouth is responsible for a good 60%-70% of leads where fairs and trade shows only drive 2-3% of future customers.

4. Customers constantly browse information aka content

People spend more and more time on the Internet, mainly browsing information. This is a great opportunity for business to share content and information about their business. And it goes further then business and services descriptions. It is about stories, tutorials, news snacks, testimonials and advices.

5. Digital marketing is the most cost-effective investment

Digital provides the best conversion rates at a very low cost compared to advertising. Another great advantage of digital is the possibility to follow the customer journey from the beginning and consequently to improve the experience.